Space42, Viasat sign binding agreement to co-found 'Equatys'

Space42, the UAE-based AI-powered SpaceTech company, and Viasat, Inc., a global leader in satellite and secure communications, today announced the signing of an agreement at World Space Business Week in Paris to formally establish Equatys, a shared space and ground infrastructure platform that will support the extension of mobile coverage and overlay in the places terrestrial networks cannot serve, including in coverage gaps in populated metro areas. Upon the formation of Equatys, Space42 and Viasat will commit to an initial equity contribution of up to $1 billion.

Development of the initial constellation accelerates with the simultaneous signing of an agreement to step-up joint funding. Upon formation of Equatys, Viasat is expected to be appointed as the company’s prime technology contractor.

The company is being established as global demand for satellite-enabled mobile connectivity accelerates. With 3GPP NTN standards enabling everyday smartphones and connected devices to access satellite networks, the addressable Direct-to-Device (D2D) and advanced MSS market is expected to expand significantly over the coming decades.

Together, Viasat and Space42 bring unmatched global reach through commercial relationships with more than 400 mobile operators worldwide and access to the largest amount (>100MHz) of globally coordinated MSS spectrum available for D2D deployment, creating a uniquely scalable foundation for growth.

Equatys is designed to support the connection of smartphones, IoT devices, and other devices and terminals directly to satellites, giving mobile operators a way to offer voice, text, and data where cellular networks are otherwise unavailable or have low density. The agreement builds on work by Space42 and Viasat on the technical design and manufacture of the satellites, along with ecosystem progress in seamless terrestrial network integration, interoperability standards and feedback from a number of mobile network operators and ecosystem participants.

This is the next stage in Space42 and Viasat’s roles as co-founders of Equatys, first announced in March 2025, when Space42 and Viasat began funded technical and commercial studies of shared non-terrestrial network (NTN) infrastructure, followed by the September 2025 announcement of their intention to form Equatys.

Equatys is built on a Tower Company model, a proven approach that helped the terrestrial mobile industry efficiently scale by sharing standardised and/or common infrastructure among all or many operators. Equatys will provide a neutral, shared layer of both satellites and ground infrastructure; by sharing infrastructure rather than duplicating it, ecosystem participants can reduce capital requirements, accelerate deployment, increase service availability, and maintain customer and commercial independence.

Participating operating licensees sharing infrastructure can realise greater cost efficiency than is likely possible within their own geographic coverage area and/or spectrum authorisations – potentially rivalling or surpassing even the largest individual constellations. Multiple operators can use the same platform while maintaining their own spectrum licensing rights, customers, and commercial relationships.

The business model is open by design, so additional spectrum licensees and satellite operators can use the constellation, which supports high levels of spectrum aggregation, coordination and cooperation. The initial constellation is the first phase of an architecture designed to scale to 2,800 satellites across 60 orbital planes and three altitude layers, enabling densification without redesign as demand grows.

The company’s funding is expected to come from a combination of founders’ equity, third-party equity and debt financing sources. The model is anticipated to offer equity investors infrastructure-grade returns with appreciation potential, while phased equity offerings will allow additional strategic and financial partners to participate as the system scales. Additional licensee users of the system would not be required to invest in the system in order to use it.

Within this new company, each founding partner brings significant scale to the system. Space42 holds coordinated L-band spectrum rights across more than 160 markets and mobile operator relationships that extend the platform's commercial reach. Viasat is expected to serve as prime technology contractor, and holds coordinated MSS spectrum rights in the L-band globally and in the S-band in Europe.

Together, Space42 and Viasat hold commercial agreements with more than 400 mobile operators worldwide and technical capability and access to operate across over 100 MHz of globally coordinated MSS spectrum for advanced MSS services and NTN D2D services.

Karim Michel Sabbagh, Managing Director of Space42, said, "With the signing of this agreement, Equatys takes off. For the first time, the satellite industry is building infrastructure the way the mobile industry thinks: shared, interoperable, standards-based, and designed for billions of devices rather than millions of subscribers. Space42 and Viasat have each brought what the other could not, and together we have assembled a differentiated capabilities system unique to the space industry. We have always known it was within our reach, and today we are proving it."

"We are creating a new infrastructure category for global D2D and advanced MSS connectivity, backed by unique spectrum assets, significant committed capital, and a business model proven to scale the mobile industry. Finalising the formation of Equatys reflects our collective confidence in the strategic value and long-term financial merits of this venture to support a rapidly growing non-terrestrial market for emerging D2D NTN and advanced Mobile Satellite Services," said Mark Dankberg, Chairman and CEO of Viasat. "By creating a system with state of the art technology, and mechanisms for neutral, shared, and trusted infrastructure access, Equatys will accelerate innovation in space-based connectivity, establish a scalable and interoperable architecture designed to support a full ecosystem of participants with choice and economies of scale, and deliver meaningful growth opportunities with attractive returns for investors and partners."

The global D2D satellite connectivity market is projected to reach US$ 30-70 billion by 2040, initially driven by the embedding of NTN support into 3GPP Release 17, the technical standard underpinning mobile networks globally, with even closer integration planned for future releases.

The standards shift means everyday smartphones and IoT devices can connect to satellite networks without specialised hardware, opening a market that no prior satellite generation could realistically serve.

Upon the formation of Equatys, Space42 and Viasat will each commit to an initial equity contribution of $400 million, which is expected to be increased by an additional $200 million from Space42 in connection with a future equity funding round open to third-party investors, bringing the two parties’ total equity contributions to up to US$1 billion.

The formation of the venture, constellation procurement and corresponding definitive agreements remain subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and the appointment of Viasat as the prime technology contractor.

The companies intend to provide further updates as Equatys progresses toward those conditions.

WAM